Hi there, guys and dolls! So that’s it for June. Who’da thunk it? And again, yours truly is once again a living cliché – always the bridesmaid and well, you know the rest. But then again, what do I care? It’s summertime and my livin’ is easy…on the eyes that is. With all the tennis and golf pros, pool and lawn boys, who has time to lament? Not me, that’s for sure.

One thing I certainly do have a few moments for is to have a little chinwag with my good friend and fellow Cozy Cat Press author, Chuck Carter. Not only is he also handsome and charming, he’s a fellow Canadian, just like my girls.

Sit back and enjoy the pleasure of getting to know the writer behind DEATH OF A DUMMY, the fabulous and fun first novel in his Wax Museum Mystery Series.

1. So tell me a little about your series and main characters.

DEATH OF A DUMMY is centered around a creepy wax museum in Quebec as it’s being re-opened by a surf bum named Paul, along with an enthusiastic (but very old) woman named Dottie. If asked, Dottie would insist she’s the main character, but the lens of the story tracks Paul’s thoughts and movements, so guess it must be him. Together they bumble their way through a murder mystery and rub elbows with some pretty shifty characters, all while trying to get the museum ready in time for an arbitrary deadline I created.

2. What is your writing process like? Do you thrive on routine or work spontaneously as the whim takes you?

I wish I could stick to a routine! But I’m very whimsical and have to be in a creative frame of mind. I usually start to write after midnight when it’s dark and quiet enough to visualize my scenes. Then I agonize over a few paragraphs until around 2:30am, at which point I realize I fell asleep while sitting up again (#TURNING45).

3. What exciting moment or moments have made you realize that you were really an “author”?

The best moment for me was printing out the first draft. I remember the printer got really hot and kept running out of paper. And what a heavy stack! I recall smacking it down on my desk a few times to enjoy the thud it made. The next exciting moment came when Patricia Rockwell offered to publish it. I’d visited the Cozy Cat Press site often while I was writing the book, hoping one day I would see my own photo there. And there I am!

4. What do you do to spark up your creativity when you feel the well of inspiration is running dry?

It hasn’t happened yet. But I’m just getting started.

5. Who are some of your favorite authors and how do you feel they have influenced your desire to write?

Nice one. My favourite is Charles Dickens, but his writing is so good that it discourages me, if anything. A CHRISTMAS CAROL actually plays a major part in my next Wax Museum installment. I also like gothic horror writers from the 1970’s like Miriam Lynch and Veronica Holt; I can do without the romantic parts but I like the atmosphere and storytelling, and I’m amazed that they can they can still surprise me even though they invariably end with a satanic ritual in the basement. Of course I have a huge collection of cozies, too (Sheila Connolly, Tim Myers, and many more).

Thanks for taking the time to share your time with me and my readers, Chuck. And friends, do take a few more minutes and check out his website and Facebook page. While you’re at it, why not get your very own Kindle copy of DEATH OF A DUMMY, too? I was glad I did and you will be, too.

Toodles,

Barbara Jean

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About Barbara Jean Coast

Barbara Jean Coast is the pen name of authors Andrea Taylor and Heather Shkuratoff. She is currently hard at work telling the cozy tales of the fictional town of Santa Lucia, loosely based on Santa Barbara in the late 50's, early 60's, known as The Poppy Cove Mysteries.